The Maze
by Goldencity
Summary: Farid and Brianna want nothing to do with each other. Fate has other plans. When they are trapped together in a deadly maze, full of horrors, it will take all they have to make it out alive. But time is limited, and nothing is as it seems...Complete.
1. Chapter One: Lady Fate's Desire

_Disclaimer: The Ink-trilogy belongs to Cornelia Funke, not me._

_A/N: This takes place in Inkdeath, when Dustfinger is dead. This is supposed to just slip in with the events in canon, the only change being that Dustfinger's dead a bit longer than he was in the books. It might seem a little slow at first, but there's much more action later on. I had planned to post the first chapter on the first day of 2012, but I ended up getting it up here two days early! :) Oh, by the way, the oOoOoOos are for when it switches to a different character. Unfortunately this site wouldn't let me use the signs that are usually in stories for things like that. Hope you enjoy!_

_Chapter one: Lady Fate's Desire  
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It was a cold, windy night.

If anyone had been passing the Graveyard of the Strolling Players, they probably wouldn't have noticed anything out of the ordinary. If they had stopped and examined the graveyard, they might see a form next to one of the many tombstones. It would be hard to tell what it was in the dark.

_Just a pile of dead leaves, _they might think, _or perhaps some homeless dog, seeking rest. _

And then they would continue on their way, oblivious to the fact that it was not a dog or leaves, but a boy. A young Arab boy with a broken heart.

Farid shivered as a fierce gust of wind swept through the graveyard. It was a cold night, but it was nothing compared to how cold his heart felt. So very, very cold...cold and empty.

Cold, empty, frozen, alone. There were many ways to describe the horrible feeling he couldn't escape from. That was what his life had become: nothing but pain, ice cold pain.

_How long has it been like this?_ Farid wondered. _Ever since Dustfinger died?_

No, it hadn't been like this ever since Dustfinger's death, which was almost four months ago. True, that was when the pain had begun, but it had been a different kind of pain then: a terrible sorrow, burning, always a part of him. He didn't feel any happiness, but he was still alive. Still living, though distraught.

Now it was a different kind of pain, though if anything, even worse. He felt cold inside all the time. Nothing held any meaning for him anymore. There was nothing but numb sorrow, a whole sea of it that he was drowning in. He never laughed or smiled. He never shed tears anymore either, though it would be a relief to. He didn't think he even still had the ability to cry. He was alive, but not living.

The reason for the change was because Farid had lost hope. When Dustfinger first died, Farid had never really accepted it. He had clung to the hope that Orpheus could read him back to life. But now months had passed, and Dustfinger still lay, unbreathing, wherever Roxane kept him. If Orpheus was going to bring him back surely he would have done it by now.

Farid leaned his back against the tombstone behind him. The fact that he was actually in a graveyard, a place that would attract more ghosts than anywhere else, just proved how much Dustfinger's death had changed him. Normally he would have been way too frightened to come here, especially at night. But he had been having terrible nightmares, so to stop himself from falling back asleep Farid had began to walk, not caring where he was going. He had ended up at the Graveyard of the Strolling Players, where he had stopped to rest.

"Dustfinger," Farid whispered. One word, ten letters, three syllables. How could a single word hold so much pain?

Farid sighed. He was so tired. He wanted to close his eyes and go to sleep so badly, but he was afraid to. Who knew what horrors were waiting in his dreams? But when he realized he couldn't keep sleep away any longer, he stood up and began to walk away from the tombstones. Better to sleep in his own bed than here. He exited the graveyard, head bent.

And collided with another person, sending them both falling to the ground.

Farid helped the girl up and began to apologize, after dusting himself off. Then he realized who it was he had banged into. She, unfortunately, recognized him as well.

Brianna drew away from his hand as if it were poison. For a moment they just looked at each other. Then Brianna, her eyes full of contempt, said, _"You," _somehow managing to pour a whole ocean of hate into that one word.

Farid flinched, surprised at the viciousness in her expression. He hadn't talked to her after her father died. Of course, he couldn't help seeing her around, as they both worked for Orpheus, and he was aware that she hated him, just like her mother, but they had never interacted.

Until now.

"You, the boy who caused all this misfortune," Brianna said. She was looking at him with such intense hate that Farid couldn't say anything.

"My mother's heart is broken, my father is dead,and it's all your fault."

Her words were daggers, cutting into Farid's very heart. His fault. Everyone said it was his fault: Cheeseface, Roxane...and now Brianna. So far he had never spoken up against these accusations, but now he did.

"You're wrong! It's not my fault; I never asked Dustfinger to die for me!"

"Oh yes? Well he did die, and it _was _for you," Brianna said coldly. "Though I'll never understand why he did it."

"Do you seriously think that I don't wish I was still dead and he alive?" Farid asked bitingly. "Well, I do! A hundred times a day I wish he had never summoned the White Women that night in the mine!"

Brianna sneered, an expression that looked odd on her beautiful face. "Oh, how very touching!" she said sarcastically. "Of course if you didn't _want _him to die that makes everything okay."

"I didn't say it made anything okay-"

"It doesn't matter whether you asked him to! My father is dead! He's dead because of you, and that's all that matters!"

He wanted them to stop. Farid just wanted the horrible words that were tearing his heart apart to end. He longed to hit Brianna, but she looked so much like Dustfinger that he couldn't. So instead he shouted, "You don't know anything, anything at all! I-"

"I know my mother's eyes are red from weeping! They wouldn't be that way if my father were still alive!"

Both their voices had risen by now, but the road they were standing on was empty, and no one was around to hear their shouts. No one except a small yellow bird sitting in a tree above them, who was watching them with interested, almost human eyes. But neither noticed the bird, and they went on arguing.

"Dustfinger's death is just as hard for me as it is for you and your mother; I cared about him as well-"

"You had no right to care about him!" Brianna shouted. "You're just some play actor who pretended to be my father's son until he thought he had to die for you, like the fire eater in the story. But you're not his son, and my father died for nothing."

_You've no right to care about him...my father died for nothing. _Suddenly Farid felt very weary. He had no strength to argue back. Luckily, Brianna seemed to have run out of words as well.

Then Farid realized something. Brianna's cheeks were tear stained, as though she had been crying before they unexpectedly ran into each other. He was surprised, for he'd always thought of Brianna as very in control of her emotions, like her father.

She threw him one last look of loathing before she turned and walked away. And he, shoulders drooping, continued on his own way as well.

Now empty, the graveyard was once again quiet, as if nothing had changed. But the words had been spoken, and both Farid and Brianna were affected deeply by them.

_oOoOoOoOo_

The yellow bird was still sitting in the tree near the graveyard. If anyone saw the bird they wouldn't think there was anything the least bit strange about it. _Just an ordinary bird, _they would think, if they thought about it at all. But she was not an ordinary bird; she was more powerful than anyone else, except perhaps Death.

Her name was Lady Fate.

She traveled the world in different forms, twisting peoples' destinies and futures. She was sometimes kind, sometimes cruel, and always changing. Many things could be said of Lady Fate, but no one could deny that she was very powerful.

Right now she was displeased.

_Farid and Brianna, _she mused. A boy, a girl. So different, and yet so alike, much more so than they realized. They were two broken hearts, mourning the loss of the same man. That man had been a father to them both, though only for a short period of each of their lives.

They both felt that no one understood their pain, but they both longed for comfort. Lady Fate though they could give each other that comfort, though she was sure they would disagree. They could help each other, lessening both of their pain.

The only problem was that they hated each other, or at least they acted like it. That just wasn't right. It made no sense, and Lady Fate would not have it.

_The Maze, _she thought.

Yes, why not? The Maze of Death and Deceit, where nothing was as it seemed. Where the impossible was possible. Very few who entered came out alive, and those who did were never left unchanged. It was a long time since the Maze had been used. There wasn't any reason not to...

Of course, there was very little chance that the boy and girl would survive the maze. In fact, it was highly unlikely. But what did that matter to Lady Fate? She certainly didn't care if Death claimed two more for her own.

Lady Fate always got what she wanted, and right now she wanted the maze to be used.

And she wanted it used on Farid and Brianna.

_A/N: What do you think of it so far? Interested? Please review! _

_Next chapter should be up in about a week, maybe sooner if people review telling me they liked this or asking for the next chapter!_


	2. Chapter Two: The Note and the Maze

_A/N: Well, here's chapter two. Thanks to anyone who reviewed the first chapter! I hope this doesn't seem slow at first. If it does, well, know that by the end of the chapter more things start to happen. Hope you enjoy!_

_Chapter Two: The Note and the Maze_

Brianna was trembling.

No matter how hard she tried to still them, her hands simply wouldn't stop shaking as she pulled her bed covers back and lay down. Her conversation with Farid kept replaying in her mind. She couldn't stop thinking of the pain in his face as she told him everything was his fault. Why had she said all those horrible things to him? She didn't even believe the words she'd said in the first place! True, it was because of Farid that her father was dead, but she knew he never would have chosen for Dustfinger to die in his place. So why had she said all those things?

_That's an easy one, _she answered herself. _Because you needed to lash out at someone, and he was at the wrong place at the wrong time._

She had been so frustrated when she ran into Farid. Whenever she was as upset as she had been then, she found that it was immensely satisfying to just yell at someone, blaming them for all her troubles. It was only afterwards that she felt guilty and wished she had controlled her tongue.

It seemed that her whole life had just fallen apart in the last few months. It used to be great- she had lived at the castle as Violante's maid. She and Violante were like sisters. Brianna was generally happy, her mother was generally happy, and as for her father...well, she still had nightmares about him sometimes, but she managed to ignore thoughts of him and live her life anyway.

And then Dustfinger had returned. She had been so confused when he came back- all the thoughts and feelings she thought she had buried resurfaced. Ten years. Ten whole years he had been away, and then suddenly he was back, with no explanation of where he had been. She had no idea what to do or think: part of her wanted to be angry at him, and another part wanted to hug him and be grateful he was back. She had been both furious and relieved at the same time.

When Cosimo the Fair returned from the dead that had clouded thoughts of Dustfinger. He was so _beautiful._ When he desired her presence how could she help but grant it, when it was just such a joy to look at his face? Their love had not been a true one, at least not on her part, but he was too beautiful for her to stop it. And then he had gone off to war and died. He was gone, as if he'd never come back to life at all.

But things didn't go back to the way they had been before at all. Violante was angry that Brianna had spent time with Cosimo that she should have spent with her and had kicked her out of the castle for it. That was far worse for Brianna than Cosimo's death.

Then, on top of everything with Cosimo and Violante, her father had died. Gone forever, before she even had a chance to fix things between them. And the reason he had died? For an Arab boy she didn't even know! How could she _help _but feel angry toward Farid?

Her life was horrible now. Her mother cried all the time. She worked for Orpheus, who she despised. And there was a constant ache in her heart, as if when her father died he had taken a part of his daughter with him, leaving her broken, incomplete.

Nights were the worst for Brianna. After being strong all day, keeping her emotions under control, she couldn't keep the tears away as she lay in bed, surrounded by darkness. That was actually the reason she had been out walking in the first place: she had been having terrible nightmares and had needed to escape. She had already been depressed because her mother had been crying earlier, and her horrible dream had topped off a terrible day with a terrible night as well.

So she had walked, hoping the quiet and the cool night air would comfort her. Far from it- she had simply worked herself into an even more upset state, thinking of all the things she usually tried not to think about.

And then, as she was passing the graveyard, the boy had so conveniently been there, just when she needed someone to lash out on. But she got no satisfaction out of it. Instead, she felt incredibly guilty. She couldn't stop thinking of the pain in Farid's eyes.

Tomorrow, she decided, she would apologize. Not something she was fond of doing, but she knew she wouldn't stop feeling guilty unless she did.

She and Farid certainly didn't have to be friends, but they didn't necessarily have to be enemies either.

_oOoOoOo_

It was easy, so easy, to catch Farid alone the next day. Brianna was working in the kitchen when the very boy she needed to talk to walked in.

"Orpheus told me to make him some tea," Farid said in answer to her questioning gaze, avoiding her eyes. Being in the same room with her was obviously making him uncomfortable.

_No wonder, _Brianna thought guiltily, thinking of last night. She opened her mouth-

"Don't speak to me," Farid snapped at her.

Brianna was a bit taken aback. "But-"

"Don't say a single word to me ever again," he said murderously, glaring, "or you'll regret it."

For a moment Brianna couldn't say anything, but then she managed, "Fine! I don't want anything to do with the boy who caused my father's death anyway!"

She regretted it as soon as the words were out of her mouth, even more so when she saw the hurt in Farid's black eyes.

He quickly turned and exited the room, Orpheus's tea apparently forgotten, and Brianna stared after him, cursing herself.

She had been about to _apologize! _How had it gone so wrong?

_oOoOoOo_

Farid didn't know how he managed to get through the day, but somehow he did. He couldn't stop thinking of last night, and earlier that day when he ran into Brianna in the kitchen.

_I don't want anything to do with the boy who caused my father's death anyway!_

He had heard it all before, from Roxane and Orpheus, so why did it affect him so much when Brianna said it?

It was because she looked so much like her father. It didn't matter that it wasn't Dustfinger, it still hurt to hear those words coming from someone whose face so closely resembled his.

Well, maybe now she would stop talking to him, like he had told her to. Farid hoped so, for he hated the way Brianna always seemed to make him feel even worse than he already did.

_oOoOoOo_

Brianna blew out the candle and lay her head on her pillow, wondering how the day had gone so wrong.

_No, _she thought desperately, _not tonight. Tonight I'll be strong. _But saying that to herself made no difference, and the tears came anyway. Just like they always did, as if her sorrow could be poured out in the form of water, leaving her happy again. If only that were true!

How she longed for some kind of comfort, an escape from the sorrow and pain that was crushing her more and more with each new day. But it seemed there was none. No one _understood. _Well, her mother did, Brianna supposed, but she wasn't on the best of terms with Roxane. Violante used to be a great comfort to Brianna when she was upset, but Her Ugliness was still angry about the whole Cosimo thing.

Brianna sighed, and then suddenly shot up. Maybe she could apologize to Farid without even having to talk to him. She rummaged the room for a pen and something to write on. When she finally found them, she quickly wrote:

_Farid- I'm sorry for what I said in the graveyard, and then in the kitchen earlier today. I don't even know why I said what I did, I didn't even mean it. I had actually been going to apologize then, but things didn't exactly go as I planned. -Brianna_

She folded the note and put it on her desk beside her bed, then lay back down and finally began to relax. Tomorrow she would give Farid the note, and then she could forget about both him and that night in the graveyard.

_oOoOoOo_

Farid cursed inwardly when he saw Brianna coming towards him. But she didn't say anything, she simply pressed a folded sheet of paper into his hand and then walked away. He stared after her for a minute, confused, and then he opened the piece of paper. Something was written on it, and for a moment he wished he knew how to read.

_I could take it to Meggie so she could tell me what it says, _Farid mused. _No, _he decided, _it's not worth the trouble. _He doubted it said anything that would interest him.

He slipped it into his pocket and forgot about it.

_oOoOoOo_

It was now two days since Brianna had given Farid the note. He hadn't mentioned it at all, though he'd had plenty of opportunities to. Brianna assumed he had read it and chose to ignore it.

_Well, it's perfectly fine with _me _if he wants nothing to do with me, _she thought, wondering why it would irritate her. _I don't want anything to do with him either!_

_oOoOoOo_

And so the days passed. Farid felt as if he would soon die from despair. Orpheus still didn't write anything for Dustfinger. Maybe he couldn't, or maybe he wouldn't, but the fact remained that the Fire-Dancer was still dead.

And now Meggie was mad at him.

_Ten days, Farid! Ten days since you've visited me, and you said you would come more often!_

He felt guilty about not visiting and he could definitely see why she was upset, but he also couldn't help feeling that Meggie didn't understand. He knew she didn't know why he was still as distraught as if it had been yesterday Dustfinger died. It _had _been months, after all.

But Dustfinger had been like a father to him. How would Meggie feel if Mo died?

He loved to see Meggie, but it had grown painful as well. There were so many memories of her connecting to Dustfinger that Farid couldn't help but think of him, and it hurt to think of Dustfinger. Although it wasn't as though he could ever think of anything else anyway.

_How long will all this go on? _he wondered, wishing for an escape.

_oOoOoOo_

A yellow bird soared high in the sky, standing out in the dark night. The preparations were nearly finished. Soon her plan would be put to action.

The moon vanished behind a cloud, and Lady Fate disappeared into the night.

_oOoOoOo_

Farid had been lying awake in bed, staring at the ceiling, when it happened: everything started spinning.

Faster and faster, and then his surroundings vanished.

And then, just as suddenly as it had begun, it stopped.

At first he was too dazed and confused to do anything, but then he realized he was on the ground. Slowly, wondering if this was a dream, he picked himself up.

"You!" a panicked voice said. "What have you done, how did we get here?"

Farid spun around. "Brianna?" he said, bewildered.

"How did we get here?" she repeated, looking freaked out.

"No idea," he answered, shrugging and glancing around at their surroundings.

They were somewhere outside, but there were no houses or roads in sight. In front of them was some sort of huge archway, made of two curved black trees. Past the archway was a narrow path, with walls on either side made from leafless, black trees as well, packed so closely together that it would be impossible to walk through them.

"This is a dream," Brianna whispered. "I was in my room a minute ago, I can't have just been transported here! It _must _be a dream."

"No, it's not," Farid said, for a moment feeling sorry for her. She looked so scared. He realized she had never experienced being whisked away to another world like he had. Was this even another world, though?

A single spark rose from the ground, stopping when it reached the top of the two trees, where it stretched into a thin banner. Golden words appeared on it.

Brianna stared at it, both fear and fascination written in her face.

"What does it say?" Farid asked.

"You can't read?"

He shook his head and repeated, "What's it say?"

Brianna took a deep breath, then read aloud, "Greetings, humans. You have been chosen to enter The Maze. The sun will rise in an hour- in that time you must find a way out of the maze. You must collect three items on your way: a black rose, a pair of silver slippers, and a leaf from a blossoming tree. But be on your guard: nothing is as it seems. If you fail to find a way out of the maze, or if you lack any three items when your hour is up...you will die."

_A/N: Hope you liked that. I'd love reviews! It doesn't have to be anything long (though I DO love the long ones), even just a quick 'I liked it' or 'Update soon' makes me insanely happy, and it only takes about two seconds to write. So please review! You'll totally make my day. :)_


	3. Chapter Three: Roses and Ghosts

_A/N: THANK YOU so much to everyone who reviewed the last chapter! I really, really appreciate it! And also thanks to everyone who's reading this story! Hope you all enjoy this chapter!_

_Chapter Three: Roses and Ghosts_

"I don't believe this! This is not really happening; it _can't _be happening! It's a dream, nothing but a dream!" Brianna's voice sounded near hysterical. "I mean, I got _transported _to some maze where we're supposed to find three things and if we don't we'll just fall down _dead?_" she ranted. "It _has _to be a dream! These things don't happen in real life!"

"Yes, they do," Farid said, thinking of all the strange things he'd experienced. He'd been read out of his own world, seen things in Meggie's world he'd thought was impossible, been brought back from the dead...the maze really wasn't all that odd compared to everything else.

"No they _don't!_"

"Look, I don't have time to argue with you," he said, glaring. "That think said we have an _hour _to find a way out; we're going to need every minute of that!"

"It's only a dream," Brianna repeated, as if trying to convince herself. "I'll wake up any minute now."

There was a snarling sound behind them. They both spun around to see a huge wolf, gray as ash and advancing towards them. With another snarl it leapt up, and Farid did the only thing he could think of: he grabbed Brianna's hand and ran into the maze.

He didn't know how long the wolf chased them; his only thought was that if they stopped, they would die. Still holding Brianna's hand tightly he ran on, making turns left and right, trying to escape the wolf but knowing if they hit a dead end they would be doomed.

They ran until they could run no more, and then they collapsed onto the ground, the leafless black trees on either side of them, their thick branches reaching out like long black fingers. The wolf was no longer in sight.

Farid felt like his sides were killing him. Brianna didn't look any better as she sat down, breathing hard. Her red hair was now a wild mess.

"Still think this is a dream?" Farid gasped, trying to catch his breath.

"Let's find those three items and get out of here," Brianna said as an answer.

"Right. Black rose, silver slippers, and leaf from a blossoming tree," Farid said, then snorted, gesturing at the dead trees all around them. "The leaf is going to be hard to find."

"They'll _all _be hard to find!" Brianna said despairingly. "I've never even seen a black rose, and what would a pair of shoes be doing in a place like this?"

"We have to try, though," Farid said, standing up. "How much time do you think we've already spent?"

"Not long. Five or ten minutes?" Brianna guessed. "I really have no idea. But we need to get going!"

He nodded, and she realized they had just been talking as if they didn't dislike each other. Strange.

Wait a minute...

Brianna whirled back around to face him, realization dawning. "You can't read!"

"So?" he replied, looking annoyed.

"That means you never read the note!"

"What are you talking about?"

"The note I gave you! Don't you remember?"

"Oh, _that,_" Farid said, realizing what she meant.

"Yes, that! You still don't know what it says, do you?"

"No...I figured it wasn't anything very important."

For a moment Brianna felt offended by that, but then she remembered she hadn't really given him any reason to think it would be important. "Well, it was! That was a note apologizing for what I said in the graveyard!"

_He obviously wasn't expecting that, _Brianna gathered from the way Farid was suddenly gaping at her.

"You..._apologized?_" he questioned, having found the use of his voice again.

She nodded a bit uncertainly.

"But..." His voice trailed off. He was clearly quite shocked.

Suddenly what Brianna had been planning to say to him before came out in a jumbled rush: "I never meant what I said, even as I was saying it, and I really don't know why I said it in the first place, I mean, I was just already frustrated, and you were just right _there- _I know you never wanted my father to-"

"You...um..." Farid broke in clumsily. "You don't have to say anything else."

"Oh...er..."

Suddenly they both felt very, very awkward.

The tension was broken when Brianna exclaimed, "Oh my goodness, we've wasted so much time! Oh, this whole thing is impossible anyway." She looked close to panicking again. "How can we find the items if we can't even see very well; it's still dark!"

Without a word Farid made a flame dance on his fingertips, shedding light around them.

"Oh yes, of course..."

He smiled slightly.

The black trees were so tightly packed together that it would be impossible to go through them. They were way too high to climb, and even if they weren't, the branches on them looked sharper than the tip of a sword, so that was out of the question. Without another word Farid and Brianna began walking, not even sure if they were looking for the three items or the exit of the maze. They came to several crossroads where they had to choose which way to turn, and twice they ended up at a dead end and were forced to retrace their steps.

There was a feeling of urgency everywhere; it seemed to be in the air, all around them. Neither spoke of it, but they both felt it, like an unwanted presence.

"Another dead end," Farid groaned, gesturing at the cluster of black trees before them.

"No," Brianna said, staring intently, "I don't think it is."

There was something different about these trees. Maybe they were a bit lighter, perhaps? She reached a hand out. It went right through.

For exactly two seconds they stared, dumbfounded.

"Come on!" Brianna then said, grabbing his hand and pulling him with her through the insubstantial trees.

Darkness.

That was Brianna's first thought. Nothing but darkness, all around her. She could no longer see anything: not the trees on either side of her, Farid...she couldn't even see her hand when she lifted it up in front of her face. Farid's fire seemed to have gone out, and there was no sign of him, either.

"Farid?" she called.

No reply.

"Farid!" she shouted, more desperately this time.

Again, no answer.

Where was he? She had had his hand just a moment ago! Brianna cursed, her fear growing, and also anger at being afraid for his sake in the first place.

She called out again and almost choked. There was not only darkness but thick fog, too, and it was growing thicker. She couldn't breathe!

"Brianna?"

"Farid?" she gasped.

But it wasn't Farid. It was a little girl, holding a candle. The child looked to be around eleven or twelve. Somehow she seemed strangely familiar...

"Brianna!" The girl reached for her hand. "Come, I can lead you out of here!"

Brianna drew away, wary. "Who are you?"

"You don't know?" The child held the candle to her face, making her features clearer. "Look at me, Brianna!"

Brianna looked. Dark hair, eyes that were strangely similar to her own...She gasped. "Rosanna?"

The girl nodded.

Brianna studied her face again. It was indeed Rosanna, but not as Brianna remembered her. This was how her sister would have been if she had lived.

"Bu-but...this can't be!" he stammered. It couldn't be her sister; her sister was dead. And the dead didn't come back to life.

Rosanna put a hand on Brianna's cheek. It felt so real.

"No," she murmured disbelievingly, but all the same she took the younger girl's hand, her heart a mixture of confusion and joy.

"I can take you away from here," Rosanna said again.

"But Farid..." Brianna started. "Do you know where he is?"

"We'll find him, and then I'll lead you both away, out of this maze."

She sounded so convincing. As she began to walk, Brianna followed, ready to go where her sister lead her. She was alive, her sister was really alive! That was all Brianna could think about.

Soon a door appeared out of the darkness. Or rather, a door shaped hole in the middle of a narrow, dirty wall. Rosanna gestured towards it, but Brianna didn't go through. It somehow seemed to her that if she went through the door she would practically be giving herself up to Death.

"Go on!" Rosanna said. "It's the way out."

"What about Farid?"

"I'll go back for him; first get yourself to safety. Go on, while you still have time!"

Though still hesitant, Brianna went through the doorway.

Once through, she saw that she was now in a gray room. The walls could have been made of stone. There was a roof as well, unlike when she had been surrounded by trees.

She whirled back around. "I thought you said this was the way out? It doesn't look like it to me!"

Rosanna began to laugh. Not a little girl's laugh, but a high, cold, evil sounding laugh. It chilled Brianna to the very bone, and she took a step back.

Then Rosanna stepped away from her. "Goodbye, Brianna," she said simply.

"Goodbye? Where are you going?" Brianna said faintly, hearing the fear in her voice as she spoke.

"You're very stupid. But then, all humans are."

Fear was making its way into Brianna's heart. "Who are you?" she whispered.

The child who looked so much like Rosanna laughed again. "Not who you thought I was."

Her voice had changed: gone from warm and child-like to cold, ice cold. Brianna felt petrified.

"I'll leave you to die now."

The words sent shivers down her spine.

The girl who was not Rosanna turned and left, walking out the doorway she had come through.

Brianna ran after her, but before she reached the doorway more appeared beside it, all looking exactly the same. Beyond them all she could see tunnels, with even more doors in their walls.

She whirled back around. More doors had appeared where the stone walls had been before. What was she to do? Attempt to find her way out? She began to imagine what would happen if she did: she would go through the original door, but she wouldn't be surrounded by darkness like she was before. Instead she would be in the tunnel she saw, with more doorways. And if she went through another door it would just lead to another tunnel, and if she continued to go through tunnels and doors she would eventually get hopelessly lost, unable to even find the center where she stood now.

No, she couldn't do that. She sat down and dropped her face in her hands. She was trapped.

_How could I have been so stupid? _Brianna thought. _How could I have really believed that was Rosanna?_

She remembered the warning at the beginning of the maze: _But be on your guard. Nothing is as it seems._

Of _course _that..._thing_ couldn't have been her sister. Her sister had been dead for years. How could she have fallen for it?

Brianna felt despair seeping into her. So this was it. She would die, for she certainly wouldn't be able to find her way out. She wondered what had become of Farid after she had lost him in the darkness. Perhaps he was dead, or trapped somewhere, like her.

Tears gathered in her eyes. She wiped them away, but more came. Soon the sound of her sobs were echoing loudly through all the tunnels, but there was no one around to hear.

_oOoOoOo_

_Where was Brianna?_

That was the only thought going through Farid's head. As soon as they had gone through the insubstantial trees he had lost her. His flame had gone out, and now he was standing in utter darkness. He tried to call up more fire, but it wouldn't work. So he called Brianna's name in the dark.

He called again and again, but there was no reply.

Fear gripped his heart like a cold hand, its icy fingers clutching it. Brianna was gone, and now he was completely alone. In the dark.

_Don't panic, _he told himself. _Just stay calm. _It was hard. Then he remembered what he had been thinking when he went through the trees in the first place. The trees had seemed to make a dead end, looking almost exactly like the other dead ends they had come to. But this one was different. There must be something hidden beyond it, or else why would it be disguised to look normal?

_One of the three items, _Farid thought, something like excitement breaking through his fear. _One of the three items must be hidden here. _He stumbled around, looking for anything in the midst of all the darkness.

Soon he saw something that made him stop in terror.

Ghosts.

Several pale figures, both men and women, as white as if they had been dusted with freshly fallen snow. They were all standing- no, _floating_- around a small table, on which lay a rose. Its stem and leaves were dark green, its petals black as night. Tiny drops of water hung on the petals, like pearly tears.

The ghosts floated and swirled around the black rose. It all would have been very beautiful if only Farid hadn't been so scared.

He had seen ghosts before, though no one else seemed to be able to. Dustfinger had always said they were just his imagination. Imaginary or not, they terrified him, and the ghosts by the rose were no exception. But these ghosts seemed somehow different. Much more innocent than the other ghosts, but at the same time more terrible as well...

_Now you're just thinking about it too much, _Farid told himself. _Go get the rose, it's only a few feet away!_

Would the ghosts simply let him take the rose? There wasn't exactly much they could do to stop him, was there, transparent as they were? He stepped forward. Only when his fingers closed around the flower did the ghosts finally turn their transparent heads towards him. Heart pounding, Farid paused.

When the ghosts didn't do anything he stepped back, rose in hand. This was too easy...

Suddenly the ghosts spoke, in a united, watery whisper. _"What do you desire?"_

The question puzzled Farid. "What? What are you-"

_"What do you desire?" _Once again, they spoke united. _"You have the rose. We are bound to the rose; we must do what the master of the rose desires, provided that the request does not require us to leave our place of darkness. We ask you again: what do you desire?"_

This was too easy, much too easy. The ghosts were letting him take the rose, and on top of that, they were going to help him with whatever he wished? It was way too easy; it must be some kind of trick.

"Do you know where Brianna is?"

_"Yes," _came the watery whisper.

"Can you take me to her?" Farid asked.

_"Yes. Follow us."_

It seemed too convenient to be real, but Farid followed the ghosts as they began to glide away, holding the rose tightly. Soon they came to a door. Through it Farid could see a tunnel, with more doorways.

"Is she in there?" he asked, his throat dry.

_"Yes."_

He started to go through, but the ghosts' whisper stopped him.

_"Wait. We have an offer to make you."_

"I'm not interested," Farid said quickly, but the ghosts continued anyway.

_"We know of your pain. You feel as though you are suffocating in your sorrow. You feel that no one understands. You have nothing left but despair and fear. But you long for an escape."_

Their words, spoken in the same whisper, sent shivers down Farid's spine. He didn't say anything.

_"We feel no pain," _they continued. _"We feel nothing. Become one of us, and you as well will feel nothing. We are offering you an escape. Become a ghost, and forget your pain."_

Every word the ghosts had spoken was true. Farid did feel that he was suffocating in sorrow. He did feel that no one understood. He was drowning in longing and despair. And yes, he did long for an escape.

_Become one of us...you will feel nothing...we are offering you an escape...forget your pain._

Suddenly, the prospect of becoming a ghost seemed very appealing.

_A/N: Please review! I'll really, really love it if you do! :)_


	4. Chapter Four: Mental Debates

_A/N: Thanks to everyone who's reading this story! Thanks especially to everyone who's reviewed! I really love and appreciate your reviews. Hope you enjoy this chapter!_

_Chapter Four: Mental Debates_

The ghosts stared at Farid with their white, transparent eyes, waiting for his answer.

_Yes, I want to become a ghost. I want to leave the pain and sorrow of life behind._

The words were on the tip of Farid's tongue. He wanted to say them so much, but something held him back.

The white eyes continued to stare at him. All was silent. Time seemed to have stopped. Everything had stopped, as if waiting for his reply.

_Make me like you. I don't want to feel anything anymore!_

Why didn't he say those words? Hadn't he, for so many weeks, longed for a way out of the wretched existence his life had become? And now here it was!

_Go on, Farid, just say them! _he urged himself. But then another voice rose in his head: _Are you insane? Have you forgotten how terrified of ghosts you are? And now you're going to become one without a second thought?_

As the second mental voice spoke Farid hesitated. But then the ghosts' words came back to him.

_We feel no pain. We feel nothing. Become one of us, and you as well will feel nothing. We are offering you an escape. Become a ghost, and forget your pain._

If he became a ghost he could forget the horrible pain that followed him wherever he went, every day, every hour, every second. Farid though about how awful the past few months had been for him: he didn't remember what it was like to be happy anymore, and every night he went to sleep terrified of the horrors that waited in his dreams. He wanted to escape it all so much, and now here was what he'd been waiting for!

_Ah, but how do you know the ghosts weren't lying? _the voice in his head asked. But Farid mentally pushed it away, remembering what the ghosts had said: _We are offering you an escape...forget your pain._

_Yes, I accept your offer! Make me a ghost, and let me leave the pain of life behind!_

Farid opened his mouth to say the words out loud- and then closed it again, swallowing them back down. He continued to silently debate with himself as precious seconds ticked by.

_oOoOoOo_

Brianna didn't know how much time had passed. After a while she stopped sobbing and simply sat there. Several times she got up with the intention of finding her way back to the insubstantial trees they had gone through, but each time she sat back down. There were doorways all around her; she couldn't remember which was the right one. Even if she did find the original one, beyond it were even more doors and tunnels. There was no way she would be able to find the way back, if there even was one. So she just sat there, waiting for death.

The minutes felt like hours. _How much time of the hour do we have left? _Brianna wondered. She had absolutely no idea. There could have been forty minutes left or only four.

Where was Farid? Was he trapped somewhere, like her, waiting for death? She wished he were with her. If they were going to die in this maze, it would at least be better to die together.

And then, as if her own thoughts of Farid had summoned them, she heard it: voices. They were faint, as if they came from far away, but they were definitely there.

First she heard some strange, unfamiliar whispering; she couldn't make out what was being said.

"I'm not interested." That was Farid's voice.

Then came the whispering again, more of it this time. When it fell silent Brianna waited for Farid's voice again, but she heard nothing. It was completely quiet again.

"Farid!" she shouted. "I'm in here! Farid, where are you? Farid!"

She continued to shout, louder and louder.

_oOoOoOo_

_Yes, I'll become a ghost!_

_No, don't do it, Farid!_

_Why not? There's nothing left for me in life anymore, nothing but sorrow! I'll become a ghost; it will be better that way!_

_No! Don't-_

_"Well, holder of the rose?" _the ghosts whispered, interrupting Farid's mental argument._ "What say you? Shall we make you like us?"_

So many white eyes peering at him. It almost seemed their was mockery in their transparent gaze.

"I..." he began, the two voices in his head screaming opposite orders at him. "Ye- I mean, no-"

Then the ghosts began to speak again, but not in the united whisper, like before. Instead each spoke for itself, and all the voices interrupted and crossed over each other.

_"Become one of us!"_

_"Leave the pain of life behind-"_

_"Become a ghost!"_

But then Farid heard another voice, coming from beyond the doorway they were still standing beside. Brianna's voice, shouting his name. And he realized that she was still somewhere near, maybe hurt or trapped, and he needed to find her.

_Yes, that's right! _one of the mental voices said. _Go find Brianna, and forget this mad notion of becoming a ghost!_

He was about to run from the doorway, but the ghosts their hands out to his heart. Farid stood there frozen, unable to move. Their touch felt like ice.

_"Only we can give you the escape you desire," _they whispered, united again. _"Just say yes!" _Their icy, transparent hands stayed at his heart.

_Yes, yes, yes! I will-_

_No! I won't-_

_Yes, I will become a-_

"No! I _won't _become a ghost, so get your hands off me!" Farid shouted, breaking free from the icy touch and running through the doorway.

The ghosts leered at him as he ran, their faces angry, but they were powerless to stop him, for they were bound to their place of darkness.

Farid stopped, breathing hard. He had done it; he had said no. He wasn't going to become a ghost. He wasn't sure whether he felt relieved or disappointed, and he didn't have time to figure it out. Time was limited, and he didn't know how much of it he had left.

He whispered fire words, and at last flames leapt up in his hand. He wondered why it didn't work before. Maybe it didn't work in the dark where the ghosts stayed.

"Brianna!" he shouted. "Where are you?"

_oOoOoOo_

When Brianna at last heard Farid shouting back, relief flooded through her, so strong that it almost surprised her.

"Farid!" she shouted back. Her voice echoed through all the tunnels.

It was so hard not to just start running through doors, trying to find him, but Brianna forced herself to stay where she was. If they both ran around the place, trying to find each other, the result would surely be them both getting hopelessly lost, which would waste even more time.

Sure enough, the next second Farid shouted, "Brianna, stay where you are, but keep talking. I'll come to you."

She did as he said, and soon his shouts began to sound nearer and nearer. Then, at last, he finally appeared in one of the doorways, looking as Brianna imagined she herself must look: shaken and weary. She also saw relief on his face. Without knowing quite why, she stumbled over to him, forcing back a sob, and hugged him. She wasn't sure why she did it; maybe everything that had happened with Rosanna had left her needing some kind of comfort.

Farid's arms tightened around her, and she sensed that he needed it as much as she did. For a moment she let herself relax, forgetting about the maze, her father, Rosanna, and how they would both probably die.

But then, as they pulled away from each other, the moment was lost.

"You got the rose!" Brianna exclaimed, noticing for the first time the black flower in his hand.

"That's right," Farid said, attempting to smile, something he didn't quite succeed at. "One down, two to go." He sounded so weary. "Let's get out of here."

He took her hand, and Brianna saw that he had left a trail of sparks on the ground. _Good idea, _she thought briefly. They started running, following the trail of sparks, until at last they came to the last door, and the darkness beyond it.

Once through the door Farid's fire went out, but they held each other's hand tightly, not wanting to lose each other again, and stumbled through the dark. They ran for a few moments, and then just as suddenly as they had entered the darkness, they were out of it again.

Farid's fire came back, casting light around them. Brianna saw that they were back in the maze again. The black trees loomed over them menacingly. Behind them was the same dead end. Brianna hesitantly put her finger to one of the trees behind her. It went right through. Yes, they were back. Back in the deadly maze.

Without a word, and still holding hands (neither of them thought to let go), they began to walk. They didn't urgently run, fighting for their lives. They walked, with weary steps, for they had both given up any small hope they had had of making it out alive.

Soon Brianna realized she no longer had Farid's hand in hers. She turned around and saw that he was standing a few feet behind her, head bowed in dejection.

"Farid?" she called softly. "Come on, we don't have time to stop."

He raised his head, and Brianna saw his hopeless expression."What's the point?" he asked dully. "Let's face it, there's no way we'll make it out of here alive. We've probably spent half the hour already, and we still need the leaf and slippers! And then there's actually finding a way out of this maze. It's hopeless!"

It's hopeless. Farid's words were everything Brianna had been thinking but didn't say. As if keeping the words unspoken might make them untrue.

She walked back to him and dropped to the ground, feeling as weary as he looked. Farid looked a little surprised. Maybe he had been expecting her to say they should try anyway. But she didn't, and he sat down next to her.

So this was it then. They had given up.

In some ways it was a relief, Brianna though. They would die, and the thought of that scared her, but at least they wouldn't have to face any more monsters or horrors if they just sat here.

The rose was loosely held in Farid's hand. Brianna took it from him and gently stroked the black petals. "What happened to you when we got separated? How did you get this?"

He was silent for a moment. "There were ghosts," he said almost inaudibly, looking lost in thought. "They were all around a table. The rose was on it."

"And they just let you take it?" Brianna asked, her expression changing from hopeless to incredulous.

"Yes. Well, not exactly." Farid hesitated. "They offered to make me a ghost."

For a moment Brianna stared at him, dumbfounded. "You refused, didn't you?" She didn't really know why she asked. He obviously wasn't a ghost, so he must have refused.

"Eventually." Again his reply was almost too quiet to be heard.

Brianna had a feeling there was much more to it than Farid had said, so she continued asking questions. "Eventually? Why didn't you say no right away? That's what I would have done," she added, shuddering at the thought of becoming a ghost.

Farid looked at her appraisingly. "Would you?"

"Why wouldn't I?" Brianna asked, a bit disconcerted by the way he was looking at her.

Farid drew his knees up to his chest and dropped his head onto them. When he spoke again it was in a shaky voice. "They said ghosts don't feel anything. They said I could escape the pain and sorrow of life...and just forget everything."

Brianna felt understanding dawn. Of course. His own pain must be at least as great as her's. No wonder the ghosts' offer sounded so tempting. She wondered what she would have done if it had been her who had that chance. Would she refuse after all? Or would the idea of forgetting her sorrow be appealing enough to become a ghost?

She honestly didn't know what her answer would have been.

"Saying no was probably the hardest thing I've done in my life," Farid said quietly.

He looked so forlorn. Did she look the same? For a moment Brianna felt like hugging him again. But she didn't, and the moment passed.

She was surprised at how much Farid had told her. She wouldn't have expected him to open up so much, at least not to her. But then, there was no one else, after all. It was just the two of them, waiting for their inevitable death that would come when the hour was over.

Farid raised his head. "So what happened to you? How did you get trapped where you were?"

At first Brianna hesitated. But he had told her about the ghosts; she could tell him about Rosanna. So she said, "I saw my sister."

"You have a sister?" Farid asked, looking confused. "I didn't know that."

"Not have. Had," Brianna corrected, sighing. "She died eight years ago."

"Oh." Farid looked like he didn't know quite what to say. "But you saw her?"

"Well, sort of. It looked like her. I thought it really was her at first, even though she's been dead for years. She said she'd lead me out of this maze and then go back for you. Instead she trapped me, and then laughed and left me to die." It was a relief to get the words out, even though Farid could do nothing but listen helplessly.

They continued to sit. Both were silent. There were no more words to be said. Nothing left for them to say or do but wait to die.

Until Brianna raised her head.

"What is it?" Farid asked, seeing the intent look on her face.

Brianna didn't answer.

"What?" Farid said, growing alarmed.

"Do you hear something?" she asked softly, as if she didn't want to disturb whatever it was she was hearing.

Farid paused, listening intently.

And then he heard it.

"Music," he said.

_A/N: Hope you enjoyed! If you've read up to here that probably means you liked it. If so, please do tell me in the form if a review! Seriously, all reviews make me INSANELY happy! It doesn't have to be anything long (though the long ones are always awesome), just a quick 'I liked it' or 'good job' or 'update soon' makes me really, really happy. So please review, people! I'll be forever grateful! :)_

_ I think this chapter was shorter than the last one, but the next one will be a nice long one. :)_


	5. Chapter Five: Music and Eggs

_Chapter Three: Music and Eggs_

Music was playing, breathtakingly beautiful music.

It reminded one of anything innocent and pure: dancing fairies, the sweet laughter of a child, the peaceful breathing of a sleeping baby. It was all wrapped up into a beautiful, endless, magical song that made the listener forget any troubles or worries. It made the listener forget anything at all, feeling the only thing that mattered was that the music didn't stop.

Farid and Brianna listened as if under a spell. The music was the most glorious sound either had ever heard; they could tell even as far away from it as they were.

They stood up. There was no need for words, for they both knew that the other was thinking the same thing as themselves: that they had to find the source of the music.

"It's so beautiful," Brianna whispered wonderingly.

Farid nodded, but gestured for her to not say anything else, a rapt expression on his face. The music was too extroardinary to be interrupted by their common human voices.

They followed their ears, and soon the music began to get louder. They were getting close...

And then, as they came to a third turn in the maze, they came to a wonderful sight.

Four trees were scattered next to the tall leafless black ones. But these, unlike their sinister neighbors, were actually normal: the branches were brown, and on them large green leaves grew.

There were people around the green trees: men, women, even children. They were all dancing, hair flowing and skirts whirling. This was where the music was coming from, though Farid and Brianna couldn't see what caused it. It almost seemed to be connected to the dance: when the people whirled faster the music sped up; when they gracefully slowed their movements the music, too, sank to a slower pace.

Behind it all the maze was as black and sinister as ever, but Farid and Brianna weren't interested in what was beyond. Nothing mattered except the music. As they listened, all the sorrow and grief of the last few months seemed to be lfited off their shoulders with each new note. They forgot everything: Dustfinger, Rosanna, the rose that was still in Farid's hand, the two other items, the maze...they just forgot it all, listening to the music. The beautiful, beautiful music.

Neither of them knew it, but the music was a spell. Now that they'd heard it, it would be very nearly impossible for them to leave.

Not that either of them had any thoughts about leaving.

For the first time in months, Brianna was actually _happy. _Content. It was utterly perfect. After the turmoil of the last few months, and the horrors they had experienced in the maze so far, this was paradise.

The music kept playing. The longer it went on, the more of Brianna's memories vanished. It was all slipping away. Soon she didn't remember where she was, what she had been doing before...she even forgot _who _she was. And though Farid stood beside her, thoughts of him vanished as well.

Her head and heart were empty now, filled only with the music, but it didn't matter. She was happy, so utterly happy, listening to the music. She never wanted to leave...

Brianna and Farid would have gone on listening to the music with the intention of staying there forever, but soon they would have died one of the worst deaths imaginable; if only Brianna had never let her eyes wander.

But she did, and what she saw saved them.

A corpse.

It was halfway hidden behind the trees, but Brianna saw it all the same. It was impossible to tell whether it had been a man or woman. The face was almost completely gone; it could have been eaten off. The clothes were tattered, broken rags, draped over a body that was missing more than a few limbs.

It was utterly gruesome, and it shocked Brianna so much that she forgot about the music for a moment.

And then everything came rushing back to her: the maze, the rose, her father, Farid...

"Farid!" she gasped.

He was still standing next to her. His face wore the same rapt expression her own had had before she saw thew corpse.

But now only one thought was running through Brianna's head: that they had to get away from the music. Seeing the corpse had broken the spell, and now Brianna knew they had to get away. Or something terrible would happen. Something very terrible, and very soon.

The dancing people were still smiling, but they no longer looked innocent to Brianna. She imagined their smiling faces were just a mask they hid their cruelty and evil behind. Were they cruel enough to kill Farid and Brianna the same way the corpse had been killed?

_Maybe, _Brianna thought. Probably. After all, nothing was as it seemed in this strange, terrible maze.

They had to get away. But the horrible, beautiful music was still playing. Brianna felt herself beginning to forget again, falling back under its spell.

"No!" she whispered.

Oh, but the music was so beautiful...so perfect.

Brianna quickly put her hands over her ears. Once the music was blocked out she felt her head beginning to clear again. _Okay, we have to get out of here, _she thought. She looked at Farid apprehensively. His eyes were glassy; he looked like he was under a spell, which he was. Okay, so she just had to make him forget about the music and remember everything else; then he too would realize that these dancing people were more sinister than they seemed, and they would be off before they were killed in a violent, painful way. Simple as that.

But unfortunately, that was easier said than done.

"Farid!" she cried, shaking him.

For a moment he looked vaguely confused, but then he just slipped from her grasp and his eyes turned glassy again.

"Farid, you have to stop listening to the music! Come on, we need to get out of here or something terrible will happen! Farid, please, listen to me!"

But the music was working its magic on him even more than it had with her. He didn't seem to be taking in a word she was saying. Brianna began to panic. Farid didn't seem to remember her, and time was running out. Soon the dancing men and women would do something horrible to them, she was sure of it. They had to get out of here _now. _

She stepped forward to him with renewed determination. "Farid, it's me, Brianna! We have to _leave!_"

Farid actually turned to her, but his eyes were still those of someone who knew nothing. As long as the music was still playing he wouldn't remember anything.

Brianna removed her hands from her ears. Immediately the music filled her head again, but she managed to block it out. She couldn't fall under its spell again. If she did, there was no hope for either of them.

She put her hands over Farid's ears, trying to stop him from hearing the music. With a cry he pushed her away and took a few steps back.

Brianna swore. She could almost feel the time slipping through her fingers. She had to do something! She started to sing loudly, trying to block out any other sound. Frustratingly, the volume of the music rose as well, drowning out her voice.

"Farid, forget the music! It's Brianna, don't you remember me?" She spoke faster and faster. "I'm Dustfinger's daughter! Don't you remember? Don't you remember Dustfinger?"

At Dustfinger's name Farid had involuntarily started. And then a light started to come into his eyes...Yes, he remembered! But no, his eyes had gone vacant again.

Then Brianna got an idea; she knew what might get a response. She pushed aside her guilt at what she was about to say; it would be worth it of it made him forget the music.

"Farid, remember Dustfinger? Remember how he sacrificed his life for you?"

Her father's name seemed to get a reaction more than anything else, so Brianna said it again, even though it tasted of pain. It hurt to say his name as much as it hurt to say her next words.

"Dustfinger's _dead, _Farid! He sacrificed his life for _you._ You as good as killed him!"

Brianna felt terrible saying those words, but for a moment it seemed they had worked. Farid's face lost the vacant expression. The effect of the music seemed to have gone.

But then, as quickly as it had come, it was erased. The spell of the music hadn't been broken after all.

Brianna gave a cry of unsupressed fury. They were running out of time!

Then inspiration hit her. Of course! He could remember the same way she had! She pulled him towards the corpse.

As Farid saw the mangled, mutilated body, his eyes widened in horror. The pure shock of seeing such a thing blocked out the music for a minute. That minute was just what Brianna had been waiting for. She could almost see all his memories whizzing back to him.

At last his eyes cleared, and she could see that the effect of the music was finally broken.

"Farid?" she questioned, just to make sure. "We have to leave!"

"Brianna," he murmured, his voice sounding far away. "Yes...yes, you're right."

She could have cried and hugged him with relief, but there was no time. Suddenly she gasped. "A leaf from a blossoming tree!"

The second item was right there in front of her! Why hadn't she realized it before? She had vaguely wondered why there were four normal trees mixed in with the black, but she hadn't fully understood what it meant. She was about to pluck one off, but then she realized something was wrong.

The music had stopped.

Brianna slowly turned around. The people had stopped dancing. Instead they just stood there, glaring at the two teenagers. And then, right before their eyes, the people began to shrink and change. Skin turned black, fingers became claws, wings spouted from their their backs. Soon there were no longer human beings standing before them, but bats instead.

"Oh no," Farid said quietly, his voice filled with dread. The two small words were just what Brianna was thinking as well.

The black bats rose in the air, then swooped down at them. Brianna screamed, but she couldn't hear herself over the bats' cries.

It was chaotic. She couldn't think properly. All she could see was the flurry of the flying animals; it was like a thick black cloud surrounding her. Where was Farid? She tried to call to him, but a bat flew into her face, knocking her painfully to the ground.

What were they to do? Just try to get away from the bats? What good would that do? No, they needed the leaf. They couldn't leave without it.

Brianna forced her way through the bats. She could now see the trees again! She stumbled forward to one with leaves, reaching out her hand- and then heard herself cry out as a sharp pain filled her left arm. A bat was sitting there, digging it's claws into her. With her right hand she hit it as hard as she could, and it flew off.

Ignoring her bleeding arm, she reached out again, and this time felt it close around one of the delicate leaves.

Immediately the bats flew at her, causing her to cry out again.

"Brianna?" she heard Farid yell.

She couldn't answer; she was enveloped again in the moving black cloud, trying to keep the bats off her face. Soon she managed to break out of it. For a moment she felt relief. Then she realized she was no longer holding the leaf.

Brianna turned, ready to dive back into the cloud of bats to retrieve it, but a hand on her arm stopped her. Pain immediately shot up her arm; it was the scratched one that Farid had grabbed. She ignored it and shouted it him, "Let go of me, I have to get the leaf back!"

"I know," he said breathlessly, moving his grip to her hand. "But we need to stay together."

The leaf was lying directly under a whirling clutter of bats. The animals did all they could to stop them, clawing and scratching at their faces and hands, but despite the unwelcome distractions, Farid and Brianna managed to retrieve the leaf.

As soon as the leaf was in Brianna's hand again, they ran. The bats tried to stop them, but didn't chase them. Soon Farid and Brianna were far from their clutches.

"Are- you- alright?" Farid gasped out, still running.

"I'm- fine," she managed breathlessly. The minor scrapes and cuts from the bats' claws weren't important. "You?"

"Fine," he gasped back.

They only stopped to rest when the stitches in their sides wouldn't allow them to go any further.

"Still have the rose, right?" Brianna asked, trying to get her breath back.

Farid nodded, extending the black flower. It was somewhat the worse for wear, but that didn't matter. At least, Brianna hoped it didn't.

"Two items. I think we might actually make it out of here alive!" Farid said. "If we can find the slippers."

Brianna nodded eagerly, glad that he agreed with her unspoken thought.

"I can't believe we're not dead yet," Farid said wonderingly.

"Yes, really," Brianna agreed. "It's quite a wonder we're still alive, what with bats, a wolf, beautiful music, dead sisters, annoyingly tempting offers, and ghosts."

"We must just have a talent for surviving," Farid said. Then his face darkened. "Let's not get excited yet, though; we're still in the maze. Let's go."

The whole ordeal with the music and the bats, though it had very nearly cost them their lives, had proved to be for the better in the end. Gone were the weary teenagers who had lost all hope, waiting for death. Instead Farid and Brianna felt fire burning in their hearts again. Hope was tiny, like a spark that could be put out any minute, but it was there, and they both felt it. They would continue fighting. That was all this was really: a huge fight for their lives. The odds were against them, but maybe they would make it through.

They went on with a feeling of urgency greater than they had felt all throughout the events so far. The fight was on. They were racing against time.

They made turns left and right, the black trees always looming over them. It would help immensely, Farid thought, if they could view the maze from above, so they had some idea of how close to the exit they were. But they couldn't, and there was nothing they could do about it, so they continued on.

_How much time do we have left? _Brianna thought desperately. Ten minutes? Twenty? She didn't know for sure, but she knew it wasn't much.

Soon they reached a crossroad. There were three ways they could go: left, right, or forward.

"Which way?" Brianna asked.

"Left," Farid said, guessing randomly.

It turned out to be immensely lucky that he chose left, for soon they came to something.

It seemed to be some sort of house, though it was only the size of one room. It stood in the middle of the path, taking up the entire width of it so there was no way around it. It was also completely silver, with large double doors.

Brianna and Farid quickly exchanged excited glances. This was a change from the endless black trees they'd seen previously. The slippers could be in there, or maybe it was even the end of the maze! With another quick glance, they entered the silver building.

As they passed through the doors, they saw that the inside was silver as well. What else they saw wasn't exactly what either had expected. Along the walls were dozens of shelves, on which were what looked like large eggs. They were lined up in neat rows on the silver shelves. The eggs were all sorts of colors, too- scarlet, lavender, sky blue...there was practically every color imaginable.

At the end of the room was another door; Farid and Brianna immediately made for it. Farid put his hand on the knob and tried to open it, but much to both their disappointment, the door was locked.

"Why, did you plan on leaving without so much as saying hello?" an injured voice said behind them. "Now that's just plain rude."

Farid and Brianna whirled around to see a girl with blonde curls standing a few feet behind them. They hadn't seen her before. She wore a frilly purple dress, and on her feet were a pair of silver slippers.

At once Farid began to think of how to best get them from her. Tackle her to the ground and grab them off her feet? But what then? The door was locked; where would they go?

"I'm so glad to see you!" the little girl cried, smiling happily. "Though I'm amazed you made it this far; not many do. _And _you got the leaf and rose!" she added, talking very fast. "Now how in the world did you manage that? Many men and women far greater than you two have perished barely ten minutes into the maze. Oh, I _am _so glad you made it all the way to me!"

The little girl clapped her hands gleefully. Farid and Brianna were both too shocked to say or do anything. This girl was quite unlike anything they had encountered so far.

"It's not often that humans come into the maze, you see," the girl continued. "When they do we all fight to be the one to kill them. But we're all bound to our own places in the maze. I get the least humans of anyone, they usually die long before they're even _close _to me, 'cause I'm so far away from where they start out. You've reached the finish, you know," she added. "Not that it matters, because you won't ever make it out."

She began to spin around happily, while Farid and Brianna watched in silent bemusement. They were at a complete loss for what to do now.

"I'm positively _thrilled _that you're here!" the girl said again. She stopped her spinning to observe them. "I've always thought it so unfair that I get the least humans out of all of us. And I kill the most interesting ways, too! Everyone else is always exactly the _same._"

The girl paused for breath before continuing. She seemed very talkative. "The ghosts will try to convince you to become one of them, and when you say yes, they devour you alive," she informed them.

Brianna noticed that Farid went a few shades paler at this news.

"And then the vampires would suck your blood, and the weird musical bat people hypnotize you with their music and dancing. Then, when you're completely under their spell, they pull you apart limb from limb, listening to your screams of pain echo through the night." Talking of such violence didn't seem to disturb the girl in the least bit. She continued, "But _me- _I'm so much more interesting than them! _I _don't always kill exactly the same way. Sometimes I burn my victims. Sometimes I have them bitten to death by some deadly insect. The possibilities are endless!"

Up to this point Farid had been listening to the words tumble out of her mouth in a sort of daze, but now he shook himself out of it. There wasn't much time left.

He looked at Brianna. Her eyes seemed to be saying: _the slippers are right there! Let's grab them and get out of here!_

The girl seemed to read what she was thinking as well, for she shook her head and said, "No, that's a bad idea, dear. The door's locked, you can't go anywhere."

Brianna didn't like being called 'dear' so condescendingly by a girl who looked around eight years old, but she didn't say so. There were far more important things to worry about.

"Oh, I know!" The little girl clapped he hands delightedly, curls bouncing. "We'll play a game! I try to kill you, you try to kill me! The only weapons we can use are the eggs. You have the advantage of two against one, while I have the advantage of knowing what each and every one of these eggs does, where-as if _you _break one, whatever comes out is just as likely to turn on you instead of me. If you win you can take the slippers off my dead body, and if I win...well, you'll be dead by then, so it doesn't really matter to you what I do, does it?"

She smiled charmingly.

Farid felt sick. Was this really their only choice? To play a game with a little girl that would result in either her's or his and Brianna's death, the latter being more likely? What if they got the chance to kill the girl and take the slippers? He didn't think he would be able to kill her. She was cruel, but she was just a _child_, or at least she looked like one.

Brianna was looking at him despairingly. It seemed that there was nothing they could do except play her game.

"On your mark...get set...go!" the girl cried.

Farid and Brianna were totally unprepared. The girl, on the other hand, was perfectly collected. She selected a bright red egg and almost lazily tossed it a few feet away. Where it hit the ground and cracked, a large flame shot up out of it. Brianna shrieked as her skirt almost caught fire, but leapt away in time.

The girl smiled challengingly at her, then took a light green egg off one of the many shelves. This one she threw high into the air. It shattered when it hit the ceiling, and a dagger came falling down, which the girl caught expertly and threw at Farid. He avoided it easily, and it stuck into the wall in between two shelves.

"Well, come on, you two!" the girl cried, carelessly throwing a glass bottle a pink egg had left. "Be adventurous! Break some eggs!"

They didn't respond; Farid had pulled Brianna away only just in time for her to avoid getting a face full of glass.

The girl swung around the room to observe the many eggs. Carefully she selected a dark blue one. When she cracked it on the floor, dozens of large, hairy brown spiders crawled out.

Brianna froze in absolute terror. She couldn't move. She couldn't breath. She had always been terrified of spiders, perhaps even unnaturally so.

And now there were dozens of them coming towards her and Farid.

Luckily he had more wits about him that she did at the moment. He urgently scanned the shelves, seeing that the eggs would be their only hope. The spiders crawled closer. He quickly smashed a pale yellow egg. It was out of pure luck that a see-through blue shield errupted, protecting them from the spiders.

"Ooh, very good choice!" the girl laughed from the other side.

Soon the shield disappeared, but by then the spiders had as well. It seemed that everything the eggs brought disappeared after a few minutes.

The girl continued breaking eggs, but now Brianna and Farid were breaking them as well, desperately searching for something that could help them get the slippers and escape. Soon the floor was covered in colorful egg shells. There were several strange creatures roaming around as well, along with many useless objects lying on the ground. The girl had been right when she said that whatever came out of the eggs could just as easily turn on them instead- a couple of times they only narrowly avoided being killed.

Farid and Brianna were beginning to panic. Time was running out, and they were no closer to getting the slippers than when they first entered the room of eggs.

Some of the eggs had very odd items inside. One that Brianna cracked revealed a slice of chocolate cake, while another one Farid tried left a bright pink wig.

"Try it on!" the girl commanded, giggling. "Let's see how you look with pink hair!"

Farid ignored her demand, preferring his black hair over the pink wig.

Many of the eggs were dangerous and deadly. Flames shot out of two more red eggs, which Farid put out with a few fire words, and one time he barely avoided getting bitten by a snake.

Brianna threw another at the wall, where it shattered into a dozen pieces. A large ball was now bouncing in the egg's place.

The girl squealed delightedly and picked it up. "Catch!" she cried, tossing it. "Oh, you're no fun!" she added when Brianna dodged it instead.

The girl whirled around, curls bouncing, and took a black egg off the shelf. This one, unlike the others, she cracked very carefully. Inside was a small black stone. She slowly took it in her left hand and turned her gaze to Brianna.

The effect was immediate. Farid watched in horror as Brianna dropped to the ground, screaming. For a moment he couldn't seem to make his legs work. When she gave another pain-filled scream he tried to knock the stone from the little girl's hand, but she merely laughed and skipped back.

Farid was more horrified than he'd been all through the maze so far. The girl was hurting Brianna, and he didn't know how to stop her! He looked around desperately for something he could use to throw at her, but the items the eggs had previously left had disappeared by now.

Brianna gave another agonized scream from the ground, sounding as though she was being tortured. The scream cut into Farid's heart. And the girl was laughing gleefully. Actually _laughing, _as if there was nothing more pleasurable to her than listening to Brianna's cries of pain.

Suddenly Farid felt a burning anger, more intense than he'd ever felt before. He reached out knocked several eggs off the nearest shelf. Fire ants crawled out of one, water shot out of another, and a third revealed a knife. The girl didn't even notice, she was concentrating on Brianna too much to think about him.

Farid picked up the knife, raised it- and hesitated.

Then Brianna gave another drawn out scream, and his hand acted almost of its own accord.

He watched, barely believing, as the knife sailed through the air. He watched as it plunged through the girl's heart. He watched as she fell to the ground, her own blood making pools around her.

The stone rolled out of her hand, and Brianna abruptly stopped screaming.

Farid was in a daze. He had just killed her. He didn't know what to think or feel.

Everything was silent except for Brianna's quiet whimpers.

Brianna...he needed to go to her, see if she was alright...but he had really _killed _the girl...but she had been torturing Brianna; what else was he to do? Oh god, he had actually _killed _her!

It seemed so unreal. He hadn't really killed her, he couldn't have. Any minute now she would leap up, curls bouncing, laughing at him for believing her to be dead so quickly, and the battle would continue.

But no, her purple dress was now red with blood, her blonde ringlets were scattered limply around her face, and her eyes were still and glassy.

The girl was dead.

_A/N: Thanks so much to everyone who's read this far! Hope you're enjoying it! I'd really, really love reviews! It's okay if you've never reviewed before, you can still review now! To everyone that HAS reviewed before: thank you very, very, VERY much! I've read and reread all your reviews. Please do review again and tell me what you thought of this latest chapter! It doesn't have to be anything very long, either- even just a few words makes me insanely, absurdly, wonderfully happy!_

_There's only one more chapter left after this, which will be posted sometime in the fairly near future._


	6. Chapter Six: The Mirror

_A/N: Well, here it is. The final chapter. Thanks so much to everyone who's read this story, and thanks especially to those of you who have reviewed! I hope you all enjoy this last chapter._

_Chapter Six: The Mirror_

Brianna lay on the silver ground, egg shells all around her, trying to get her breath back. She had just gone through the worst pain she'd ever felt in her entire life. She didn't know what that black stone was, but when the girl wearing the slippers had held it and looked at her, she had immediately collapsed to the floor in indescribably agony. Her very bones had felt like they were on fire. It was by far the worst physical pain she'd ever felt.

She wasn't aware of Farid breaking eggs or throwing the the knife, nor did she hear the girl's laughter. There was nothing but agonizing pain, blocking out everything else. It was only when it abruptly stopped that she remembered where she was and what she was doing there.

Brianna sat up, fighting the wave of dizziness that came over her. At once she saw the girl lying in a pool of blood.

"Farid?" she said softly.

Immediately he turned his attention off the girl and on to Brianna.

"Is she..."

"Dead? Yes," Farid said.

Brianna wanted to feel glad that the girl who had just tortured her was dead, but she found that she couldn't, no matter how cruel she had been. She looked so different lying there. She looked like nothing but a harmless little girl.

Brianna turned her gaze away from the girl's body. She could already tell that the image would haunt her dreams in the future.

"Brianna, are you okay?" Farid asked, worry on his face.

"I'm f-fine," she replied, though it was obviously untrue. The room wasn't cold, but she couldn't stop shivering and shaking. Farid noticed this and put his arms around her. She leaned against him, feeling his body warmth.

Soon she pulled away. "The slippers...we're at the end of the maze, need to...leave..." It was difficult to get the words out. She felt nausious.

"Are you too dizzy to walk? We can wait for a minute," Farid said, but his eyes were screaming something else. They seemed to be shouting: _We have to leave, _now! _The hour's almost up!_

Brianna agreed whole heartedly. She stood up, overcoming her dizziness. "No, I'm fine," she said, and this time she meant it.

Farid quickly took the slippers off the dead girl's feet, while Brianna retrieved the leaf from the ground. She didn't remember dropping it, but she supposed she must have.

"Rose, leaf, slippers..." Farid murmured. "Let's go then- damn it! The door's still locked!"

Brianna groaned. After being so close to escaping, they were going to end up dying because of a locked door?

"Wait a minute..." Farid stared intently at the remaining eggs. Then, without any warning, he started smashing as many as he could.

Brianna shrieked as several things happened at once. Fire shot up from the ground, snakes slithered, hissing; bees suddenly filled the air, weapons fell to the floor. "Why the hell did you do that?" she screamed at Farid, swatting away some bees that were trying to attack her.

"There has to be a key in one of these eggs!" he shouted back. "Help me look!"

"I'm a bit busy right now!" she called, as part of her skirt caught fire. She quickly put it out, coughing from the smoke.

She heard more eggs break, and then Farid yelled, "Found it!"

Brianna stumbled towards his voice, but then stopped when she felt something slithering in her hair. She gave another shriek.

"Brianna?"

Something was moving in her hair! Images of horrible hairy spiders filled her mind, and she thought for a moment that she would faint from terror. But when she shook it out it was only a baby snake, something that was immensely less terrifying than a spider in Brianna's opinion.

"Brianna, where are you?" she heard Farid call. She couldn't see him, due to the thick smoke coming from the fire.

She tried to take a step forward but tripped over something on the ground. When she picked herself up she saw that her foot was covered in blood that wasn't her own. Brianna turned. It was the little girl's body she had tripped over, she realized, feeling sick.

She felt Farid's hand take hers. She grasped it, grateful they had found each other in all this chaos, though still annoyed that he'd broken the eggs without so much as a warning.

They stumbled the last few steps to the door, where Farid inserted the key into the lock. He turned it and the doors flew open, so suddenly that they both fell to the ground. Brianna got up, took a step forward- and found herself staring at a girl about the same size as herself, red hair a wild mess and various mild scratches covering her face and arms. Beside the girl stood a boy, who was in as bad a state as the girl. His black hair fell in his face, which had a cut on the cheek that was bleeding a bit.

It took Brianna a few seconds to realize that she was staring at herself and Farid.

It was a huge mirror, stretching all the way from the two walls of black trees. There was no way to move forward from there, and if they turned back they'd just be going back into the house of eggs.

For a moment neither said anything. Then Brianna gave a cry of frustration and rage.

"She said it was the way out! The girl said we'd reached the end of the maze! She said-"

"Brianna," Farid interrupted, suddenly sounding very tired, "I don't think there's a way out of here."

"What?"

"I don't think there's a way out of this maze at all," he repeated, though he knew she'd heard him the first time. "I don't think there ever was a way out. Right from the beginning it was completely hopeless! All of..._everything_...was for nothing! We're going to die, and there's nothing we can do about it," he finished, his voice cracking a bit.

Brianna sank to the ground, the leaf useless in her hand. They had miraculously managed to obtain all three items in time, but it didn't even matter, because there was no way out anyway! Everything they'd been through was completely for nothing.

She looked at Farid and saw that he was gaping at something, shock and disbelief written on his face. She turned, and saw what was making him look like that.

In the mirror, next to their own reflections, was a man. He had shoulder length hair the same color as Brianna's. On his face were three pale scars.

Dustfinger.

Her father.

Brianna turned from the mirror, for a brief moment expecting to see him standing beside her, but there was only Farid, who was staring at the mirror with longing.

She turned back. There he was again, standing next to her reflection.

She was losing her mind, Brianna decided. That was the only explanation. All she had experienced was causing her to go crazy. And it was no wonder, too.

But if that was the case, why was Farid also staring at the mirror with such longing? That didn't make any sense. _He _shouldn't be able to see the effects of _her _insanity. Maybe she_wasn't _losing her mind. Maybe what she was seeing was really real.

She was shaken out of her thoughts as Dustfinger began to speak.

"Hello, Brianna." He smiled that strange smile she hadn't seen for years, not since she was a little girl. "I've missed you," her father said softly. "I can see that you miss me as well."

It was so good to hear his voice again. So many nights she had lain awake in bed, trying to imagine what it would be like to hear his voice again, feel his arms around her...it was so many years since she'd hugged him. Brianna pressed her fingers against the glass, trying to get closer to him.

"You'd like me back, wouldn't you?" he asked softly.

Brianna couldn't say anything, so she just nodded. Beside her Farid was staring avidly at Dustfinger, filling his eyes with the sight of his scarred face.

"You could bring me back."

"How?" Brianna asked, staring at him in the same way Farid was.

Suddenly a new picture formed in the mirror. It now showed Roxane, Brianna, and Dustfinger all standing together, smiling happily. Longing filled Brianna's heart. She wanted to be as happy as she looked in the mirror.

"What would you be willing to do to make this picture reality?" her father asked.

"Anything." There was nothing she wanted more.

Nothing could have prepared her for his next words.

"Kill the boy."

"_What?_" she gasped.

Dustfinger turned his gaze to Farid. "Kill the boy. Kill Farid."

No. This was not happening. Her father had _not _just told her to kill him. He hadn't said to kill Farid. He couldn't have. He loved the boy like a son, though for so long it had made her angry. He had _died _for Farid! He _didn't _just tell her to kill him. Why would he say such a thing?

The answer was simple: because this wasn't her father. Dustfinger was dead, and seeing him in a mirror didn't change that. This was just another trick of the maze. Part of Brianna knew that, knew this _wasn't _her father, but she couldn't truly belive it. She had actually heard his voice. She'd thought she'd never hear it again.

"Brianna, don't you want me back? Don't you want us to be happy?" Dustfinger put his arm around Brianna's reflection, and she was suddenly hit with a fierce longing to really feel his arms around her.

"It would be easy to bring me back, so easy. All you have to do is kill the boy. Is that really so much to ask? After all, it's because of him I died in the first place. You could even say it's his fault."

Hurt, guilt, and betrayal flashed in Farid's face, but still he looked longingly at Dustfinger, despite the words he was saying.

Brianna's mind was a whirlwind. Kill Farid? No. She couldn't do it. Of course not. But if she brought Dustfinger back to life they'd all be _happy. _Her mother would be happy. _She_ would be happy. _No, I wouldn't, _she thought. _Not if Farid was dead. Especially if I killed him. _But to have her father back...but no, this wasn't even her father! Her father was dead!

Suddenly she felt something in her hand. It was a dagger. _How did that get there? _she wondered dazedly. Farid was staring at the dagger too. Brianna couldn't read what he was thinking.

"Kill Farid, Brianna," Dustfinger said, his voice almost seeming like a spell. "Kill him, and we'll all be happy again, just like we were years ago."

She had a weapon in her hand, and Farid was defenseless. She could easily kill him. But suddenly she thought of all they'd been through together in the past hour. She saw images: Farid pulling her along as they ran from the wolf, Farid finding her when she was trapped among the tunnels, Farid admitting he'd nearly agreed to become a ghost, Farid saving her from the little blonde girl.

And suddenly she knew that she could never kill him. She'd known it all along.

Brianna raised the dagger, and Farid thought that she would plunge it into his heart, but instead she threw it at the mirror. The glass shattered, a thousand tiny pieces falling. Dustfinger was gone.

Nothing was left of the mirror but glass shards on the ground.

Now that it was gone, Farid and Brianna saw that the girl had not been lying. They really had reached the end of the maze. The path went on for several feet, but not far away the rows of black trees ended. The last two ones on either side were leaning towards each other, forming a doorway. The escape.

They could see the sky from beyond it. They were so close. They started running...

But then complete chaos erupted.

It started with fire. The flames sprang up from the ground, but they were unlike any flames they had ever seen. This fire, instead of red, was black. Fire all around them, they were sure they'd be burned alive. But the flames didn't harm them. The two teenagers didn't know it, but it was because they had the three items. If they had lacked any one of them they would have died, but they had them all, and so remained untouched by the fire.

They ran through the flames, faster than they had ever run before. The sun would rise any minute, but they were so _close_...

But suddenly dozens of creatures appeared. It seemed that everything they hadn't already run into had come to prevent them from leaving. It was madness. Creatures everywhere,the air was suddenly filled with screeching, barking, yelling, and growling. They were all around- wolves, dogs, skeletons; all with only one purpose in mind: to stop them from escaping.

Precious seconds ticked by as Brianna and Farid forced their way forward, like sand slipping through their fingers. Each were silently begging the night to last a bit longer.

_Sun, don't rise!_

They were almost there...only a few feet away now...

Suddenly Brianna realized she didn't have Farid's hand anymore.

The seconds ticked silently by; the hour was almost up...The sun would rise any minute now...

Brianna turned and saw that Farid was struggling against a huge bear.

Day was creeping closer...

What could she do to help him? Brinna felt absolutely desperate. _We're not going to make it, _she thought. Suddenly she realized she was still holding the dagger that had appeared in her hand, the one she had been supposed to kill Farid with.

Night was fastly fading...any minute the sun would rise...

Brianna threw. The bear fell motionless to the ground, and Farid ran to her, gasping.

The exit was only ten feet away.

A pack of large dogs blocked their way, but Farid and Brianna forced their way through.

Only five now...

The sun was creeping closer. They wouldn't make it...

Three steps now...

Night was gone.

Only one more step...

The sun rose.

Everything exploded. Brianna was aware of lots of red, and then being flung into the air...and the nothing.

_oOoOoOo_

Farid slowly opened his eyes. Every bone in his body was aching. For a moment he didn't know where he was, but then it all came back to him: seeing Dustfinger in the mirror, the sun rising, everything exploding...Brianna! Where was she? Had she made it out alive?

She was beside him, pushing herself up. They seemed to have both lost consciousness, though not for long.

They were out of the maze. Alive and unharmed. It was a miracle.

Tall black trees stood a little ways off. They could only see a small bit of the maze; the whole thing must have been huge. The part they could see was on fire. Smoke rose from the flames.

Then, right before their eyes, the whole thing faded. The maze was gone, as if Farid and Brianna had never even entered it. Never nearly lost their lives...

Farid was confused. They hadn't made it out of the maze before the hour was up. The sun had risen right before they reached the end. Hadn't they been supposed to drop down dead or something? So why were they still alive?

_The explosion, _he realized. They must have been thrown out of the maze as everything blew up. If the sun had risen even a few seconds earlier than it had, they wouldn't have made it.

A yellow bird was sitting in a tree above them, the boy and girl oblivious to her presense. When the maze faded she flew off into the dawn, leaving Farid and Brianna never knowing that the events of the past hour were all because of her.

"Well," Brianna said softly, "it's over. We made it through alive."

Farid nodded. They _had _made it through alive, so why weren't they celebrating? Why did they both feel so weary and sad?

_Because nothing's changed, _he answered himself angrily. _It's exactly as it was before. _Dustfinger was still dead. They both still worked for Orpheus. They would still go on leading their depressing lives. Their time in the maze hadn't changed anything. Was it even a _good _thing they were still alive?

Farid glanced sideways at Brianna and realized he was wrong. Things weren't _exactly _the same as before. They had each other now. Being trapped in the maze together had formed a bond between them that wouldn't be broken just because it was over. The maze was gone, but the way they had worked together, saving each other's lives, was still fresh in their memories.

Brianna looked around. "Do you have any idea where we are? Because I don't."

Farid looked around and found that he recognized their surroundings. They were at the edge of a small forest. Gently curved hills were in front of them. It was a peaceful though lonely place with no houses or people close by.

"We're near Cheeseface's mansion," he answered. "I come hear sometimes, to...think."

"Cheeseface?" Brianna said, smiling slightly.

"Orpheus."

"I know who you meant. Nice name for him."

They sat together in silence, neither wanting to leave. The sun had risen, but it was anything but sunny. It looked like it was going to be a cold, cloudy day. Rain was more than likely, but still neither Farid or Brianna thought of leaving.

Each was mentally reliving everything. Both found themselves thinking of seeing Dustfinger in the mirror.

"I was almost sure you would kill me," Farid said quietly.

"No," Brianna said just as softly. "I could never do that."

"When he said he could come back if you killed me...I wanted you to."

Brianna didn't answer for a moment. Then she said, "He wouldn't have really come back to life if I had; it was just another trick of the maze, like Rosanna. It wasn't really him. If it was he would never tell me to kill you."

Neither said anything for a while.

"Farid...could you make fire dance for me? Please, it might make him seem closer."

Him. Farid didn't have to ask who _he _was.

"I don't know, Brianna..."

"Please!" she implored. "You're the only one who can do fiery flowers like my father. It might help us! Both of us."

Farid hadn't played with fire since Dustfinger's death. But she was looking at him so pleadingly that he just couldn't disappoint her. He stood up. If not for himself, he would do it for her.

Farid whispered fire words and felt flames leap up in his hands. The fire crackled back to him, speaking the language that only he and Dustfinger understood. This felt so familiar, so right, that for a moment Farid thought Brianna was right.

But then a wave of memories came over him, so strong that he felt dizzy. Fire was too connected to Dustfinger. Farid saw pictures in his head: Dusftinger first teaching him about fire in Meggie's world, Dustfinger giving him fire elves' honey and showing him how to talk to the flames, Dustfinger lying dead in the mines, Roxane's name burning in fiery letters on the wall.

That was why Farid never played with fire anymore: because it was so connected to Dustfinger. The fire in his hands went out, as if the pain in his heart had extinguished it.

He sat back down, not looking at Brianna. He couldn't help but feel guilty, as if he had let her down.

Everything was quiet. They both felt so empty, as if their time in the maze had completely drained them. Neither knew what to do; they both felt so lost.

Finally Brianna broke the silence again. "Do you really believe that Orpheus can bring my father back?"

Farid dropped his head in his hands and sighed. "I don't know...I thought he could for a while, but now...I really don't know what I believe."

He lifted his head again when he heard a soft sniffeling sound. "Brianna?"

Tears were streaming down her face. "I'm- sorry-" she sobbed. "It's just- seeing him in the mirror..."

Farid sat next to her helplessly, not knowing what to do. He gently wiped a tear off her cheek with his finger. It hung there like a pearl.

"You're lucky," he said softly, gesturing at the pearly tear. "To be able to cry...I never shed tears anymore. I don't think I even can. It would be such a relief to."

His last sentence was so quiet that Brianna almost didn't catch it. At last he looked up at her, and their eyes met.

As they looked into each other's eyes, for the first time they truly saw how alike they were. They each saw their own pain mirrored in the other's eyes. For so long they had thought no one understood, but now they realized they were exactly the same. Two broken hearts, lost and alone in the world.

Brianna put her arms around Farid and hugged him in a way unlike she had hugged him before. She was trying to pour an ocean of comfort into it, and at the same time be comforted herself. For now at last they saw that they were indeed more alike than they had ever imagined.

As Brianna tightened her arms around him, Farid felt something in his eyes that he thought he might never feel again. Tears. They flowed, faster, and faster, as if all the sorrow and pain of the last few months could just be washed away.

Rain began to fall, softly at first, but steadily turning to a storm. The trees began to sway in the wind. The rain came down faster and faster.

Farid and Brianna stood in the midst of it all, hanging on to each other as if they were their only life line in the turmoil all around them.

And so the two broken hearts found comfort in each other's touch, and though the rain showed no signs of letting up, both in the sky and in their hearts, they both felt somewhere in their souls that eventually the sun would shine again.

The End

_A/N: A final thank you to everyone who has reviewed this story! It means a lot to me. :)_


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